Brooklyn...

Tuesday...

8:47 AM...

The morning air was a bit brisk and each breeze that swept by didn't help to warm things up. Mirko was walking down the street from Distortion HQ to pick up a few breakfast sandwiches and some coffees for the crew. Koyuki had asked him to do that and pick up an extra little something that the owner had owed them last week. The word from the boss was to come back with everything or don't come back at all. It was certainly a test to see what Mirko could do and it was a quick introduction to the streets of New York.

It was only his first week working for Koyuki and so far he had earned almost no cash. Although what he had gotten so far was a gun to protect himself and a warm bed to sleep in at night. More than enough for how long he had been here in America...

"Hey! Get out of the way you dumb fuck!" A driver stuck his head out of the window yelling at Mirko as he crossed the street without looking.

Mirko backed up onto the sidewalk and ignored the driver as he went past. It was a typical morning in this loud and chaotic city that he now called home. Part of him enjoyed it and part of him yearned for the small town life he had grown up with. There was no going back though as he was determined to make his mark here in America. The lights went red and he made his way across the street...

The little delicatessen was just about fifty feet down the sidewalk when somebody came up from behind him quick. A hand was clamped down on his shoulder before he could react. It was RomanReigns and he looked quite awake compared to Koyuki and Insomnia. 

"You feel that beautiful morning air? Always feels good to get up and out early in the morning. What took you so long by the way? I've been waiting to see you show up around here for almost two hours." He said with some excitement.

"Two hours? Koyuki just asked me about twenty minutes ago to come make the pickup." The confusion was quite clear in his town and on his face.

Roman paused for a moment, "Oh. I guess Koyuki wanted me to hang back a bit more than this. I was supposed to keep an eye on you to make sure it all went according to plan. Can't have you going overboard and can't have anybody going to get the cops while you handle business. Most of these pick ups are done by at least two people anyway. The boss just wanted to test you out and see what you're made of."

Mirko nodded nervously and they finally arrived at the store front...

"Well Mirko. Good luck. I'll be inside, but I won't be getting involved. You need to get this done on your own. I'll just be on crowd control if it becomes necessary....but most folks tend to just look the other way when they can see it's us." He patted Mirko on the back and went on inside ahead of him. 

He was most likely trying to get a seat with a good view for this upcoming spectacle. Mirko had never had to make a pickup like this. It was always deliveries that he made when working for the mafia back in Italy. This would be something new for him. As he made his way inside he could see Roman sitting in the back with a coffee already in hand.

"Morning." The man behind the counter said briefly, "What can I get ya?"

That was a good question...

"Uh, I have a order that was called in earlier. It's for Koyuki." He said trying to give off confidence.

The man stopped what he was doing and slowly walked over to one of the surfaces near the grill to grab a bag and a tray of coffees. He came back over and put them down with a slam on the counter by the register. He looked at Mirko with disdain and then slid them across to where he was standing.

"There. Enjoy it." He said as he quickly turned back to the grill.

Mirko felt a bit of relief that the man put up no fight and went to leave, but he heard a slight chuckle from Roman in the back. The bag....he needed to check inside the bag. He went quickly over to a table and placed everything down. Once he had a free hand he opened up the bag to look inside. All of the food was there, but nothing extra. The man had chosen not to pay...

"Sir. I think you forgot part of the order." Mirko said as he turned back to the man behind the counter.

He snorted, "No everything that should be there.....is there."

Mirko sighed as he knew he'd have to escalate things if he wanted this man to pay up. So it was time to make a statement of some sort. Just had to be creative....

"Sir, I'm sure you're missing part of the order. A nice large piece breakfast sandwich that Koyuki just can't go without. I'm sure you have it here and ready. Just a small misunderstanding." As he spoke he pushed the cash register off the counter.

It crashed to the ground causing any patrons in the place to jump in their seats and some quickly left the business. The man somehow didn't even turn to look at Mirko. He just reached down and turned off the grill. Then he placed his spatula down on the counter top and then finally turned around. His hand slowly floated over and grabbed one of his large knives that had recently been used to cut up some meat.

"You look like you're a bit new at this. So I'll let you walk out of here before I cut your fuckin throat you dumb asshole." He held the knife out at Mirko and took a few steps forward to make his way around the counter.

The laughing from the back didn't stop...

Mirko did the only thing that came to mind when a knife was being pointed at him and that was to pull out his gun. The man took a step backwards and Mirko took that chance to step forward himself. The gun was a bit shaky, but his confidence was building. 

"Leave it to a damn kraut to pull a gun on me." He shook his head and put the knife down.

Mirko looked back at Roman who seemed to be less than impressed....so Mirko decided to put the gun down as well. How it went from there was anybodies guess...

Roman seemed to nod in approval at Mirko's decision, but he also had a bit of concern on his face. Which was probably due to the fact that Mirko was half the man's size and about to take him on in a fist fight...

The man smiled as if he had already won the fight which unnerved Mirko a bit, "Well, somebody who can be a bit honorable...don't see that too often in the mafia. If you can knock me down I'll give you the money. If not, I'll be making sure you have to eat through a tube." 

Mirko didn't try to give some sort of witty comeback and went straight on the offensive. He had spent time growing up in Italy where you had to know how to scrap if you wanted to truly survive. So he knew how to throw a punch....

A quick right hook landed square with the man's jaw and gave him an expression of surprise. Although Mirko wasn't sure if it was due to it hurting or just happening so quick. He didn't let up and kept swinging at the man....hook...jab....hook.....jab...jab...body shot...and finally one more good hit to the side of his face. 

The man wiped his mouth where a slight bit of blood had formed, "Well, you know how to fight and you have made me bleed. For that I commend you. Too bad you've not got enough muscle on those bones to take me down."

The man was lightning fast for his size and the uppercut came out of nowhere striking his chin and sending him backwards onto his ass. The bull of a man didn't pause for a moment as a swift kick hit him in the ribs. He rolled away from the man and got to his feet as fast as he could....but it wasn't fast enough. The man had him in a bear hug while laughing maniacally. He slowly walked towards one of the tables and then slammed Mirko through it. 

Mirko was slowly trying to get up...his vision blurry....and all he could see was the large man walking over to pick up one of the legs of the table that had rolled away. This wasn't good...

"C'mon Mirko! You gotta have something better than this for a performance!" Roman yelled from across the room between sips of his coffee.

The man was slowly making his way back to where Mirko was standing....his legs feeling like spaghetti...and his mind a blur of thoughts and emotions. The man had a wicked smirk on his face as he got closer. Mirko knew the man was going to keep to his word of making him eat through a tube. The thought made his adrenaline start to kick back into high gear and all he could do next was yell. He yelled as he charged forward and speared the man straight back into the glass case housing all his meats. 

The glass shattered and the man let out a loud yell....followed by a groan. Mirko fell backwards and as he started to get up he could see some blood pooling on the floor next to him. He started to frantically check himself over and wasn't able to find any large wounds. Then he turned his attention to the man lying in front of him. There was a large piece of glass through his abdomen and the blood was flowing from the wound. 

"You mother....fuck...rrrarrggghhh." He struggled to speak, "You're...fuck'n....dead. I'll..gut..y..."

BANG.

The mans head flung backwards as the bullet went through it cutting him off mid-sentence. Roman was standing there with the gun in his hand and a coffee in the other. He put the gun away and turned to Mirko...

"Well don't just sit there. Get off the ground and grab the food and coffees. We've gotta get back to the crew before everything gets too cold." He stepped over the dead man and grabbed Mirko's gun as he made his way out of the store. 

Mirko quickly grabbed the breakfast sandwiches and coffee before following Roman out the door. Confusion and pain was all that filled Mirko's head as they walked. Questions started piling up and yet he couldn't figure out where it was best to start. Roman looked at him and finally broke the silence.

"Okay. Let's talk a bit about that performance of yours and I'll explain why it ended that way." He tilted his head back finishing off his coffee before tossing the cup into a garbage can.

Roman was thinking for a moment before he continued on with his explanation, "So you didn't do great....but you also didn't completely flop. Your techniques in a fight could use some refining. I'll help you there. You definitely shouldn't jump so quick to pulling out your gun. It can either cause things to go very wrong or make you look too weak to handle yourself correctly. We work in a business where fear and respect are important currencies."

"Okay, I'll take that all in and work on it. I wasn't expecting my first pickup to be so....interesting." He had struggled to truly thing of a word that measured up to that whole fiasco. 

"Good. If you can't take criticism from the people you work with then you can't really ever improve and progress. You'll be going places with that sort of attitude." He smiled again.

Mirko could feel that at least one of his ribs was most likely fractured and it didn't helped that his chin ached like a motherfucker. Talking and walking was not helping the situation get any better...

"So why the hell did you shoot him?" Mirko inquired.

Roman seemed to get serious again, "Well. It wasn't because he threatened you or because he looked like he may die anyway. It was sorta the plan from the beginning. Just wasn't expecting the situation between you two to get so violent so quickly. Guy must have been having a bad day."

They finally arrived at the steps of Distortion HQ...

"Let me finish before we go in. So, basically the guy was a rat. That's the short story there. If you want to know more I can tell you more."

A rat? The guy was a delicatessen owner and not connected in any way. It seemed odd for the mafia to be doing a hit on somebody that wasn't associated. Although people died all the time back in Italy for the smallest things. Shotguns woke people up just as much as a rooster back home. 

"Yeah, I want to know more. A delicatessen owner turned rat?" He pushed for more information.

"It does sound a bit odd when you say it out loud. Well, the guy was talking to the feds about alcohol deliveries we made to his shop and the money we were collecting from him for protection. He was going to be a small piece in the feds building a case against Koyuki and probably the rest of us. So, he had to go. Made for a good place to test you out since the outcome was decided prior to the start. If things got too bad for you, I'd have shot him. If they went well I'd probably have let you go off on your merry way and then shot him. Either way the guy was going to end up with that bullet in his head." Roman finished and reached into the bag to grab his breakfast sandwich.

"Well, thanks for having my back then. It's good to work with people who seem to know what the fuck they're doing." He said thankfully.

Roman chuckled, "Not sure if I'd go that far. We do alright for ourselves. I'm sure you'll find your way and help us out. Now get that stuff inside so everyone can wake the fuck up. You guys sleep in too late....well except for Insomnia. That guy never fuckin knows when to get some rest."

Mirko brought everything inside and put it in the kitchen before heading out back to the yard...

The sun was starting to feel nice and warm as it rose higher into the sky...

"This shit is crazy. Nothing like my life back in Italy...but I enjoy it in some weird ways." Mirko thought to himself.

He pulled out a package of cigs and a zippo lighter. The packaging crinkled as he opened it and slid out a cigarette with his left hand. The lighter sat in his right hand. Without even thinking he was flicking it back and forth....*click*....*clack*....*click*....*clack*...

The birds were flying from tree to tree and some eventually found their place on the fence. They stared at Mirko and his sandwich that sat next to him barely touched. After taking in a deep breath and letting it go he placed the cigarette in his mouth. Covering it from the breeze he brought the flame to life and brought it to the tip of the cigarette. The lighter found itself back home in his pocket and he took in a deep inahle of smoke. His nerves finally felt calm as he laid back onto the stoop. 

The backyard was the best place to come and just....think....

Between puffs he took a few bites of his sandwich. The birds were chirping and watching intently to know what crumbs may remain once he departed. He smirked and decided to rip a few small pieces of excess bread off to throw on the ground next to the steps. 

"What the hell will be next? These guys are a bit crazy...but they do seem to have my back and that's what matters in this life. You need good people to help you keep rising. I've got to start getting more money coming in if I want to start up the liquor business I came here for." Ideas started flowing as he kept puffing.

"I could keep making pickups and I'm sure I'll keep getting cuts of it for the work. I can keep selling these small loads of drugs I've been able to get my hands on. It's not a ton of cash, but I'm sure once I can upgrade to top shelf stuff that I'll be able to make what I need. Once that happens I can move from drugs into liquor and beer. I'm not too keen on the drug business anyway....just a necessary evil." The plan seemed to be solidifying.

"It'll just be a little more time until I can get things going. I know this perfect place on the outskirts of the city off of Bowery Street that could be perfect for a distillery and overall production. Then if I can get the cash together I can get a warehouse further into the city on the same street. Really keep minimal obstacles between point A and point B. Distribute from there. Maybe even open up my own speakeasy or club and make some direct sales of the product." He nodded to nobody in particular as he found himself imagining it as the perfect plan.

He opened his eyes to see Jaspops standing over him...

"You seem to be in good spirits. What's up?" She said inquiring about his thoughts.

He smiled as he sat up and stretched out his arms. Then he patted the spot next to him...

"Take a seat and I'll tell you all about it. I could definitely use your help with this plan I've been developing." He spoke with hope for the future.

She sat down and looked at him with peaked interest. Mirko let the ideas begin to flow...